My granddaughter has been diagnosed with autism; she is high functioning and is responding to treatments. Her mother uses it as an excuse for behavior and to get government money. I also have a normal son, who was “diagnosed” at age 5 with ADD, etc, and it was outright BS.
Autism is indeed become a “sacred cow” diagnosis. Note that Savage didn’t say autism was a fraud; he merely points out that there will be folks who take advantage of such sacred cows for a variety of reasons. But, the universal response was to burn him at the stake for daring to contradict their opinions, which are no better than anyone elses. Having an autistic child doesn’t make anyone an expert. That takes years of medical school and study in the field. Absolute Moral Authority isn’t an adequate substitute for science, nor should it confer Priviledged Opinion Status to the families of the afflicted.
Folks who’s loved ones have autism should always beware of this and always look out for over/misdiagnosis. The misdiagnosed use resources that should go to the genuinely affected. Medical conditions which are sketchy in diagnosis should ALWAYS be questioned; lots of groups try to use medical scares to raise money, regardless of need.
“How dare you!” isn’t an adequate response to skepticism of anything science related.
What if Savage is right and good people are being gamed out of money and resources by medical hucksters at the expense of the truly ill?
